A Dog Walks Into a Nursing Home

Lessons in the Good Life from an Unlikely Teacher

Format

Price

Additional Formats

Overview

A layabout mutt turned therapy dog leads her owner to a new understanding of the good life.

At loose ends with her daughter leaving home and her husband on the road, Sue Halpern decided to give herself and Pransky, her under-occupied Labradoodle, a new leash—er, lease—on life by getting the two of them certified as a therapy dog team. Smart, spirited, and instinctively compassionate, Pransky turned out to be not only a terrific therapist but an unerring moral compass. In the unlikely sounding arena of a public nursing home, she led her teammate into a series of encounters with the residents that revealed depths of warmth, humor, and insight Halpern hadn’t expected. And little by little, their adventures expanded and illuminated Halpern’s sense of what virtue is and does—how acts of kindness transform the giver as well as the given-to.

Funny, moving, and profound, A Dog Walks into a Nursing Home is the story of how one faithful, charitable, loving, and sometimes prudent mutt—showing great hope, fortitude, and restraint along the way (the occasional begged or stolen treat notwithstanding)—taught a well-meaning woman the true nature and pleasures of the good life.

Praise

“I loved the book. When writing about pets and infirm and elderly people, the temptation to get sappy and sentimental may be great, but Halpern never succumbs. I found myself choking back tears… There are small and great triumphs… and there are many laughs as well… It is a great gift for someone with Halpern’s mind to join with Pransky’s heart to shed light on some very dark places for the rest of us.” –The New York Times Book Review

“Massively insightful… Consider it a meditation on morality, aging and friendship, as well as affirmation that, no matter our physical conditions or economic circumstances, ‘We are rich in life.’” –O Magazine (one of O’s Only Dog Books You’ll Ever Need to Own)

“This book delves far deeper into human nature than that old theme of ‘we all love our dogs, don’t we?’… her book is more about humanity and how wonderful, fulfilling and even surprising experiences can be had in the most unlikely of places… Amen.” –USA Today (3 ½ / 4 starred rating)

“A terrific, bighearted book that anyone interested in the human-dog bond cannot fail to be delighted by… Honest and touching, this book illuminates the lessons owners and dogs teach each other, as well as the transformative nature of acts of kindness—and not just for the recipient. Thoughtful, inspiring, and often joyous, A Dog Walks into a Nursing Home is, at heart, about nothing less than what it is to be human, hopefully with a good dog by your side.” –Modern Dog

“[Fills] readers with goodness and stories of the near-miraculous relationship between pups and people. Hers is a quiet, Zen-like book packed with philosophy, theology, and a dog. It’s more reflective, more spiritual than other dog books, and it will make you look at your canine kids with a little more wonder.” –Massachusetts Eagle-Tribune

“Heartwarming… intellectual, thoughtful and deeply perceptive… Halpern is a gifted writer who effortlessly weaves philosophy, theology, psychology and neuroscience into gently humorous, vividly descriptive storytelling… A Dog Walks into a Nursing Home is an unexpectedly profound and informative read, even as it entertains and, yes, warms the heart.” –Seven Days

“Halpern’s love of life and openness to its infinite possibilities shine through in this powerful and engaging account… Time and again, anecdotes bolster her contention that in places where ‘life is in the balance,’ it is possible to get to the essentials about human nature.” –Publishers Weekly

“Witty and compassionate… readers will take away the knowledge that we are each given one life and we had best not squander how we live it.” –Kirkus

“It proved more challenging than she had anticipated to teach Pransky, accustomed to roving through meadows unleashed, to ignore everything from food to wheelchairs to other dogs and interact politely with people who were ill, fragile, sometimes uprooted and often demented… But Pransky and her human succeeded, and Ms. Halpern’s new book tells about their adventures—an appropriate word… perceptive and unsentimental.” –The New York Times, “The New Old Age” blog

“A therapy dog opens many doors of deeper human communication. All people interesting in improving the lives of others should read this insightful book.” –Temple Grandin, author of Animals in Translation and Animals Make Us Human

“Affectionate and deeply affecting, written with a light hand and a keen eye, this is a wonderful story of great things—namely, love, life, human kindness, and dogs.” –Susan Orlean, author of Rin Tin Tin: The Life and the Legend and The Orchid Thief

“A joyous and moving account of how seemingly small gifts of kindness can make a profound difference. And not to the recipient alone.” –Geraldine Brooks, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of March, People of the Book, and Caleb’s Crossing

“This is a gem of a book, a beautiful, wise, and big-hearted story about companionship and the true nature of virtue.” –Diane Ackerman, author of One Hundred Names for Love

“A book about a dog that is ultimately a book about humanity… a beautiful, honest, joyful accounting of what matters.” –Terry Tempest Williams, author of Refuge and When Women Were Birds